


A Second Son

by AutisticWriter



Series: Chibi-chan and Tooru-nii [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bonding, Complete, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Infertility, Miscarriage, Orphan Hinata Shouyou, Orphanage, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-06-03 13:53:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19465354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: After Tooru’s parents tearfully reveal their infertility, he gets another shock when they later explain their desire to adopt a child. Tooru’s mind immediately jumps to Shouyou, and he demands his parents visit Shouyou at the orphanage. And over the next few months, the Oikawa family bond with Shouyou, and Tooru starts to wonder if Shouyou might become the little brother he has always wanted.





	1. Chapter 1

When Tooru leaves the gym after volleyball practise, he spots a familiar car parked outside of the school gates. Not just a familiar car – his parents’ car!

Confused, he hurries over and finds Mom sat in the driver’s seat, window rolled down and looking at him.

“Mom?” he says. “What’re you doing here?”

He doesn’t add it, but he’s a bit peeved she’s here; Tooru thought he earned their trust to walk home on his own. So for Mom to be here… do they not trust him anymore?

But then he looks at her face, and all thoughts of being a brat fade away. Mom’s eyes are red and puffy, like she has been crying. When was the last time he even saw his mother upset?

Tooru shivers, dread settling in deep inside his guts, and he runs right up to the door, staring at her. “Mom, are you okay?”

“Oh… I’m fine, darling,” she lies, smiling. “Could you just get in the car for me?”

“But, but I usually walk home.”

“I know, dear. But… your Dad and I need to talk to you about something.”

“Dad’s home?” Tooru says; his father always gets home from work at seven or eight o’clock.

“Yes… something came up and I asked him to come home. So he did. Please, darling, get in the car.”

Confused and fighting the urge to freak out (and wondering if someone is dead or something awful like that), Tooru climbs into the passenger’s seat and fixes his seatbelt in place. He stares at his mother, at her white knuckles gripping the steering wheel too tight and the burst blood vessels in her eyes. Something awful has happened. But how does he ask?

As Mom starts the car and drives away, something occurs to Tooru.

“Oh no!”

“What’s the matter, Tooru?”

“I was gonna meet up with Chibi… I mean, Shou-kun, but if I don’t show up… he’ll think I’ve bailed on him.”

Mom takes her hand off of the wheel and gives his own a quick pat. “Don’t worry, dear. I’m one step ahead of you.”

“Huh?”

“I took a detour on my way to pick you up, and went to see your little friend at your meeting place. I told him you can’t come today, and he understood. He said he’ll see you tomorrow.”

Tooru’s eyes widen, impressed. Moms are amazing, aren’t they?

“Oh… thanks, Mom,” he says.

She grins, but the expression seems forced. “That’s what I’m here for.”

The rest of the journey passes in awkward silence. Tooru wants to know what is wrong with his mother, but he has no idea how to ask. This must be something big, too big for him to grasp. Did someone die? Did Mom and Dad have a baby but Mom lost it? They lost a baby when he was five, and Mom was so upset. But if it’s that, then why won’t she just tell him now? He doesn’t understand.

When they finally get home, Tooru hurries into the house, tripping in his haste to get his shoes off, and runs into the main room. He finds Dad sat on the couch, all tense and clammy. He hasn’t been crying, but does look like he wants to be sick.

“Hey, Dad,” Tooru says, running over. “Uh, what’s going on? Mom’s been crying.”

“I know, little man,” Dad says, giving Tooru’s sweaty hair a rustle. “Just wait for Mom, and we can talk.”

After what feels like forever but can only have been a few minutes, Mom joins them in the main room, sitting on the couch with a gap between her and Dad. she pats the empty space and Tooru takes the hint, hopping onto the couch between his parents.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, voice cracking.

Mom takes his hand, squeezing it between both of her own. “Tooru, darling, do you remember what happened when you were five?”

He looks up at both of his parents, at the pain etched across both their faces. Of course he remembers. Mom cried a lot. Seeing Mom upset made Tooru cry a lot. It was horrible. He was all set to have a little brother or sister, and Mom and Dad had even begun decorating the spare room, turning it into a lovely nursery, when Tooru was picked up after school by his Grandma. And Grandma was crying as she told him Mom had been rushed to hospital, and she had lost the baby. He didn’t understand, but the doctor explained it to him when he arrived in Mom’s room (thankfully using child friendly language). He learned the baby died inside Mom’s tummy, and she was hurt and sick and scared. And he was scared. And he hugged Mom and cried into her chest.

Tooru nods, a lump forming in his throat. “You… lost your baby?”

Mom’s breathing hitches ever so slightly. “Yeah, I l-lost our baby. The thing is… we never told you this, but… we lost babies several times. But it was so early in the pregnancy I didn’t have a bump, so we never told you. It happened again and again, and… it hurts so much, Tooru-chan.”

Tooru blinks at the honorific; Mom and Dad only call him that when they’re feeling really affectionate. He usually finds it embarrassing. But not this time. Not this time.

“And… I started having these really nasty pains and stuff two weeks ago, so I went to the doctor. I had lots of tests, and…” Mom’s eyes fill with tears. “I got the results today. I… I’m infertile…”

Mom breaks down sobbing, and Tooru hugs her, confused but wanting to sob himself at seeing her break like this.

“Mom… don’t cry,” he mumbles, bottom lip wobbling.

Dad leans over and pulls Mom into a hug, squashing Tooru between them. “Tooru, do you know what that means?”

Tooru wriggles free of the awkward embrace, staring at his father as he strokes his mother’s back. “Um… no.”

“It means…” Dad’s voice cracks slightly. “It means your mom will never be able to have a baby again. She has a medical problem that makes it really hard to get pregnant, so you were our miracle baby, Tooru.”

“R-Really?” he says, not sure how to react.

Mom sniffs, turning her head to look at him. “Yeah. Our miracle Tooru-chan. We tried for so many years. The doctors said it would be really difficult, but we tried. And then… we had you.”

“But we wanted a second child so you could be the nii-san you’ve always wanted to be,” Dad says. “And it… never happened. And when your mother went for those tests… they said her condition has caused damage to her insides and… she’ll never be able to have another baby.”

“I’m sorry, Tooru-chan,” Mom says, tears leaking down her face.

“No, no, Mom, don’t be stupid!” Tooru says, jumping onto the couch and hugging her. “Yeah… being a nii-san would be awesome, but, but I don’t need a little brother or little sister to be happy. Really. I love things with just us.” Finally, tears well up in his eyes and slide down his cheeks. “I love you.”

Mom hugs him back, rubbing her chin against his damp hair. “Thank you, darling. Thank you.”

\---

For several days after his parents’ news, Tooru feels sad. He doesn’t know how else to describe it. It’s just so horrible to see his parents upset, and to know they’ve been struggling for so many years and life has been mean to them. But he means what he said; it would be awesome to have a younger sibling, but he’s happy with just the three of them.

He just doesn’t want Mom and Dad to feel bad.

He tries to stay bright and bubbly like the Tooru everyone knows, and most kids he’s friends with don’t notice how he feels. Except for Hajime.

No, Hajime walked over and shoved him when he came into school the day after the news, and said, “Oi, what’s the matter?”

He had no idea how his best friend saw through him, but he supposes it is just something best friends can do. Anyway, it really helped to talk it all out with Hajime, and his friend even gave him an awkward hug.

Oh, he forgot about Shouyou. Shouyou didn’t see through his fake smiles like Hajime, but his tiny friend did pick up on something: Tooru’s worries about his parents were affecting his volleyball, causing him to mess up a lot more.

After Tooru messed up a toss five times in a row, Shouyou hugged the ball to his chest and said, “Tooru… are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine, Chibi-chan.”

Shouyou tilted his head to the side. “Really?”

“Um… no,” Tooru mumbles, slouching his shoulders.

“I thought something was up. Is something the matter?” Shouyou stepped closer, staring up at him with wide eyes. “Tooru, you can tell me. I know how to keep secrets.”

Tooru smirked, ruffling Shouyou’s hair. “Promise?”

“Cross my heart,” Shouyou said, dropping the ball to draw a cross over his heart.

Tooru sighed, scuffing his sneakers against the dusty ground. “Okay. It’s just… my parents told me something sad, and there was lots of crying and I’ve got this horrible ache in my chest.”

“Oh no. what happened?”

“Mom and Dad… they kept trying to have a baby, but kept losing them. And… they found out Mom is… infertile, so they can never have another baby. Apparently, I was their miracle baby, ‘cause they didn’t even think they could have me. Shou-kun, they’re so sad. It’s horrible.” Tooru gave a loud sigh and wrapped his arms around his chest.

Shouyou stared at him, tears in his eyes.

“Wait, why are you upset?” Tooru said.

“Not upset,” Shouyou said, scrubbing at his eyes with the backs of his hands. “I was just… that sounds really hard. Poor Tooru.”

Shouyou sniffed, and Tooru raised his eyebrows.

“You are upset.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not!” Shouyou said, letting out a shrill giggle. He sighed shakily, wiping his eyes again. “Tooru, can I hug you?”

Tooru blinked. “Oh… sure.”

Shouyou launched himself at Tooru, wrapping his arms around him and pressing his face into his chest. He felt Shouyou tremble, and rubbed his friend’s back. He never thought Shou-kun would be the one to start crying.

This sucks. He hates feeling like this. He hates everyone being sad.

He just wants everything to go back to normal.

\---

Two weeks after his parents told him their news, things are starting to go back to normal. of course, things are different now, but Tooru knew that would happen. Mom and Dad (especially Mom) still look sad, but they’re much happier now, and he hasn’t seen Mom cry in days.

One day, when he gets home from playing with Shouyou, Mom smiles at him and says, “When your father gets home, we want to talk to you about something.”

Tooru flinches, and Mom sees.

“Oh, it’s nothing bad, darling!” she says quickly. “We just… we’ve been thinking and we want to tell you this together. Okay?”

“O-Okay,” Tooru says, still confused.

He goes through his routine as normal, having a bath and then doing his homework whilst eating a snack, before settling down to watch TV in the main room, but he’s distracted the entire time. What could Mom and Dad want to talk to him about? Mom said it’s nothing bad, but… what good things could get her to smile like that after everything that has happened?

In their household, they wait until Dad gets home to sit down and have dinner, but having to wait so long means Tooru always ends up having a lot of snacks in the meantime. Unfortunately, Mom limits his intake of junk, so most of his snacks are fruit or other healthy things. still, he notices that he seems a bit less hungry than normal, maybe because of the thoughts distracting him.

When Dad gets home, Tooru hurtles into the dining room and drops to his knees at the table, wincing when his bruised knees (he fell over in practise yesterday) ache even with a cushion between them and the floor. But despite his hunger, Tooru doesn’t focus on the dishes of rice and vegetables on the table or the steaming dish of curry Mom carries into the room; instead, he stares at Dad, wondering if he can read this ‘important thing’ off of Dad’s face.

“Hey, Tooru,” Dad says, taking off his tie and unbuttoning the collar of his shirt. He ruffles Tooru’s hair and takes his own place at the table, smiling. “What’s up with you?”

“I told him we had something to talk about,” Mom says, setting down the curry and taking her own spot. “He’s been distracted by it ever since.”

Dad chuckles. “Silly boy. so, should we tell him now or wait until after dinner?”

“Now!” Tooru says. “Please, I’m so confused.”

Mom smiles fondly. “Now, I suppose.” And, as she dishes out their food, she starts to speak. “So, Tooru, you remember our sad news from the other week? Well, your Dad and I have been thinking. We, we really want another child, but having one biologically is obviously never going to happen. So we were thinking… how do you feel about us adopting?”

Tooru blinks, taking in her words. “Adopting?”

“Yeah,” Dad says. “We could go to the local orphanage and—”

“Orphanage!?” Tooru cries, dropping his spoon with a horrible clatter.

“Tooru!”

“Sorry,” he says. “It’s just…”

An orphanage? He didn’t know what adopting really means, but… Mom and Dad want to get a kid from the orphanage and make them part of the family. Then that means…

“Shou-kun,” he whispers.

Mom smiles.

Dad, however, looks confused. “Excuse me?”

“He’s talking about Shouyou, the friend I was telling you about,” Mom explains.

“Oh, I see.”

“Shou-kun is an orphan,” Tooru says, starting to tremble. “Mom, Dad… can you adopt him?”

Mom and Dad look at each other.

“So… I take it you’re fine with us looking into adoption, dear?” Mom says.

Tooru nods vigorously. “Yeah, but as long as you go and see Shouyou when you go to the orphanage.”

Dad smiles, bemused. “I’m glad you’re excited by the idea, son, but… adoption is hard. It’s a long process full of meetings and paperwork and more meetings and it takes months to complete it all. But… I promise you, when we decide to visit the orphanage, we will pay Shouyou-kun a visit.”

He stares at his father, and a hysterical giggle bursts out of him. “Thank you, Dad! Thank you, Mom!”

Mom smiles. “No problem, dear.”

“So… you really wanna adopt?” he asks, picking up his spoon again.

Dad nods. “We do. We… we really want another child, and… this is the best way to make it happen.”

Tooru grins, still giggling. “I’m glad you’re happy again.”

Mom and Dad glance at each other and smile.

And as Tooru eats his curry, he buzzes with excitement. His parents want to adopt! They’ll talk to Shouyou when they go to the orphanage!

He has to tell Shouyou!

He’ll be so excited!


	2. Chapter 2

Tooru doesn’t sleep, too excited to relax. His parents’ words buzz around his head, and a ridiculous grin stays on his face.

Mom and Dad want to adopt. His friend Shouyou is an orphan. There’s a chance Mom and Dad might end up adopting Shou-kun! Chibi-chan could become his little brother. He knows he’s being stupid and getting his hopes up, but… Shouyou is such a nice person, and it would be awesome to become brothers.

His lack of sleep gets to him at school the next day, and Tooru keeps nearly falling asleep in class. At break time, Hajime nudges him, fixing Tooru with a scowl.

“So, planning on telling me why you’re so tired, Crappykawa?” he says.

Tooru yawns. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“And… why was that? I thought you could sleep through a thunderstorm. Worried or something?”

“No… I just…” He takes a deep breath. “Iwa-chan, you know everything I told you?”

Hajime’s expression softens, and he nods. “Yeah. are you okay?”

“It’s just… the thing is, my parents told me something yesterday. They wanna try and adopt another kid.”

“Oh,” Hajime says. “And are you okay with that?”

He nods. “Uh huh. I’ve always wanted a little brother or sister. The thing is… Shou-kun is an orphan.”

Hajime stares at Tooru, slowly processing what he just said. “So… you’re hoping your parents might adopt Shouyou-kun?”

“Yeah.” The ridiculous grin spreads across his face again, and Tooru shakes Hajime’s shoulders. “Isn’t that awesome, Iwa-chan?!”

Hajime prises Tooru’s hands from his shoulders and takes a step backwards. But he smiles. “Yeah, if that could happen, it’d be pretty cool. You’d love it. But… you’re not getting your hopes up, are you?”

“Probably. But I can’t help it. I can’t wait to tell him!”

Hajime rolls his eyes. “Dork.”

\---

After volleyball practise, Tooru is the first one out of the locker room, hurtling off of the campus before most of the other boys have even finished getting dressed. He jogs his usual walk home despite his achy muscles from practise, and bursts through the trees into his and Shouyou’s meeting spot ten minutes earlier than normal.

Shouyou spins around when he appears, grinning and clutching the ball. “Tooru!”

“Hey, Chibi-chan,” Tooru says, grinning.

“Did something happen? You look very happy. You… haven’t been very happy lately,” Shouyou says, drooping slightly.

Shouyou is correct. Ever since his parents’ news about them not being able to have children, things have been quite… subdued at home. And that’s been rubbing off on Tooru.

“I am happy, Shou-kun!” Tooru says, watching Shouyou perk up again.

“Oh, that’s good. what happened?”

“I, uh, my parents told me something last night.”

Shouyou tilts his head, staring up at Tooru. “Something good?”

“Yeah. Something good. You see, Shou-kun, my parents are looking into adopting another kid.”

“Oh, that’s cool!” Shouyou says, grinning. “You can be a nii-chan.”

Tooru smiles. “Yeah, I sure can. But the really good part is… I told them, when they go to the orphanage, to talk to you.”

Shouyou just stares at Tooru, taking in his words. He blinks, and the ball bounces to the floor. “Tooru, what do you mean?”

He ruffles Shouyou’s fluffy hair. “I mean… I want them to adopt you.”

“Adopt me?” Shouyou’s voice cracks, and he frowns slightly. “Tooru, is this a joke?”

“Of course not, Chibi-chan,” he says, trying not to cry when he realises Shouyou thought he was just messing with him. “I’m dead serious. I want my parents to pick you as the kid they adopt.”

For a few seconds, Shouyou just stands there. And then the lovliest grin spreads across his face and he leaps at Tooru, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Tooru!”

Tooru staggers at the lump of boy smacking into him, but manages to stay on his feet. Shouyou wraps his legs around Tooru’s waist, hugging him so tightly he almost strangles him.

“Tooru, you’re awesome!” Shouyou cries, burying his face in Tooru’s neck. “Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. I, I’ll make sure to get on your parents’ good side and they’ll like me and then they’ll pick me just like you want and I’ll have a family and we’ll be brothers and – this is so amazing!” Shouyou’s voice gets shrill as he babbles, and hot tears dribble down Tooru’s neck.

“Y-You’re crying?” Tooru says. “Shou-kun, don’t get upset.”

“I’m not upset,” Shouyou mumbles, voice hitching with sobs. “I’m happy. I’m so happy. Thank you, Tooru.”

And Tooru just hugs his sobbing friend, hoping things can go the way they both want.

\---

“So, how did your chat with Shouyou-kun go?” Hajime asks.

Tooru sits on his bed, holding his cell phone to his ear (his parents bought it for him when they started letting him walk home from school alone, but he mainly uses it to chat with his friends). “Really good. He was so happy he cried. Iwa-chan, I hope my mom and dad are gonna go through with this. It would mean so much to him.”

“I bet it would. Although I wouldn’t want you to be my brother.”

“Iwa-chan, don’t be so mean!” Tooru cries, putting on a whining tone.

Hajime splutters with laughter. “Anyway, have fun with _Operation: New Brother_ , you massive dork.”


	3. Chapter 3

Tooru buzzes with excitement, unable to keep still no matter how many weird glances he gets from Mom and Dad. He stares out of the window as the car speeds through the city, waiting for the orphanage to appear in his line of sight. They’re almost there.

It’s happening! After talking things over for a couple of weeks, Mom and Dad contacted the orphanage and have been invited for a look around and a chance to meet the children. And, of course, Tooru is coming with them. He has to see their meeting with Shou-kun.

“Just remember, Tooru,” Mom says, turning around in her seat and looking at him. “This is still really early on. And try to let your little friend do the talking.”

Tooru nods, still bouncing in his seat. He looks out of the window again, and spots a sign. “Oh, we’re here! Mom, Dad, we’re here!”

It takes a lot of restraint not to grimace when he sees the front of the orphanage. Judging from what Shouyou has told him, he knew the place would be run down, but it really does look dreary and depressing. Still, he brushes it off and grins again.

Tooru doesn’t really pay attention to much of what goes on. He knows he and his parents park and ring the doorbell and Mom and Dad start talking to a member of staff, but it all goes over his head. He just studies his surroundings, amazed by how dated this place is. It looks like an orphanage from thirty years ago. No wonder Shouyou wears hand-me-downs.

“Tooru, say hello,” Mom says, nudging him.

He jumps and looks up. The staff member smiles down at him, and says, “Hello, Tooru-kun.”

“Hello,” he says, bowing awkwardly.

The three adults chuckle, and he realises bowing probably wasn’t necessary. Why is Tooru so cool around other kids but always acts stupid around adults?

The staff member hands all three of them a blue lanyard with a laminated card clipped to it. As Mom pulls his one over his head, Tooru glances at the card. It says ‘visitor’.

“Now, the children know you’re coming, but some of them are very shy, so please be patient.”

His curiosity getting the better of him, Tooru stares up at the staff member and blurts, “Where’s Shouyou?”

“Tooru!” Mom hisses whilst Dad chuckles.

“Shouyou?” the woman says, and she smiles. “Oh, you must mean Hinata-kun. Are you the Tooru he’s always gushing about?”

“Shou-kun talks about me?” Tooru says, his face heating up.

She nods. “Yes, he’s always babbling about you and how you’re teaching him volleyball. We haven’t seen him this happy in a long time.”

Tooru finds his eyes stinging with tears, and swallows hard. He doesn’t know how to reply, so he just smiles.

“But if you want to see Hinata-kun, he should be out in the yard right now.”

“Okay, thank you,” Tooru says, and he grabs Mom’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Shaking her head, Mom says, “Forgive my hyperactive son. He’s very excited at the prospect of his friend becoming his brother.”

The staff member smiles. “Ah, I see.”

With the member of staff leading the way, Tooru and his parents wander through the hallways of the orphanage. He catches glimpses of a TV room where some kids are watching an anime, a kitchen where staff members are making sandwiches, and a closet filled with a ridiculous amount of shoes. But what really stands out is just how… tired the place looks.

When they reach the back door, the staff member slides it open and they step outside. Tooru finds himself in a large, square back yard, most of it covered in cracked concrete but with a grassy area towards the back. But all he really notices is Shouyou stood by the garage wall, tossing his new ball into the air and practising spiking against the wall.

“Hinata-kun, you have visitors,” she calls, and Shouyou turns around.

When he spots Tooru and his parents, his whole face lights up. “Tooru! Oikawa-san! It’s so awesome to see you!”

Still holding his ball, Shouyou hurtles over.

“Hey, Shou-kun!” Tooru says, grinning.

Shouyou stares up at Dad and says, “Are you Tooru’s dad?”

“I am indeed,” Dad says. “Very nice to meet you, Shouyou-kun. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Shouyou’s cheeks go red, and he smiles bashfully. “Really?”

“It’s great to see you, Chibi-chan,” Tooru says. “So… it’s happening. Isn’t this awesome?”

“It’s… wonderful,” Shouyou says. He looks at Mom and Dad and drops his ball a second before pulling himself into a deep bow. “Thank you so much for coming to see me.”

“You don’t need to be so formal with us, dear,” Mom says. “We’re just here for a nice long chat. Have the staff explained things to you?”

Shouyou straightens up, redder than before. “Uh huh. They said people were coming and if they liked one of us they’d come back again and again to get to know us and then… things might happen.”

“Indeed,” Dad says. “So… would you like to show us your volleyball skills?”

Shouyou blinks. And then he beams, picking up his ball and buzzing with energy. “I, I’d love to.”

And soon Tooru finds himself tossing for Shouyou and watching his friend spike the ball, whilst his parents and the staff members watch. And Shouyou just looks so happy and his volleyball skills are getting better by the day and…

Tooru wishes Shouyou could become his brother.

\---

In the car on the way home, Tooru leans forwards in his seat and says, “So, did you like him, Dad?”

“I certainly did. He’s a lovely boy, and I’m glad he’s got you as a friend.”

Tooru grins. “So… are you gonna see him again?”

Mom smiles, turning to look at him. “Yes, darling.”

Happiness bubbles up inside him, and Tooru stares out of the window. Mom and Dad love Shouyou. They want to visit him again.

Shouyou might become his little brother in a few months time.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few months pass in a haze of school, volleyball and visits to the orphanage. Mom and Dad visit even more often than Tooru, and they go to a lot of meetings with social care people too, people who want to check Mom and Dad are good parents. Tooru doesn’t understand why his parents weren’t screened at all before he was born but they make his parents go through all of this to adopt, but he just accepts it as part of the process. After all, that wonderful day is getting closer and closer.

A couple of months ago, Mom and Dad put in the official paperwork to adopt Shouyou. That evening, Tooru bounced around in excitement, and Mom and Dad just smiled fondly. And now it’s just meetings and meetings and meetings and then the big day will come and Shouyou will be adopted and Tooru will have a little brother and it will be so awesome.

Tooru and Shouyou have been hanging out more and more since the first trip to the orphanage, and it’s really starting to feel like Shouyou is his little brother. He knows an awful lot about Shouyou, and his friend knows just as much about him. He’s really starting to feel like a member of the family.

He talks endlessly about the adoption to anyone who will listen, infuriating the other members of his volleyball club and causing Hajime to smack him around the head several times. He knows he’s being annoying, but he can’t help it.

The big day is getting closer. It’s like waiting for the day your mom is going to give birth so you can meet your new baby sibling. It’s just his big brother instincts kicking in. Tooru didn’t realise he had any until now.

The endless paperwork and meetings exhaust Mom and Dad, but they never decide to give up on the whole thing.

“We want to adopt Shouyou-kun,” Mom says one evening when they sit around the dinner table. “We want to adopt a child. And we knew it would take a lot of work. We can get through this.”

“Yeah, there’s no valid reason why they would reject our adoption request,” Dad says. “So it’s really just a matter of time.”

Tooru grins. “Still, thank you so much.”

Mom smiles and Dad ruffles his hair. He goes red, but he doesn’t stop grinning.

After everything his parents have been through, it’s so nice to see them so motivated and happy.

\---

“Do you know anything about how adoption works, Chibi-chan?” Tooru asks.

He and Shouyou stand in their usual spot, Tooru spinning the ball between his palms as he prepares to toss it. Shouyou stares up at him, tilting his head.

“Um, a bit. Lots of kids get adopted, so I’ve heard a bit about it now and then. Why?”

“Was just wondering. ‘Cause when the adoption goes through, does the kid, like, immediately go and live with their new family?”

“I… think so,” Shouyou says. “It takes a couple of days to, you know, clear out their stuff and… stuff.” He giggles. “Are you… thinking about me?”

Tooru nods. “Yeah.”

“So you… you think it’s totally gonna happen?”

“Yeah, totally,” Tooru says, despite knowing there’s always a risk his parents might get rejected. But he doesn’t want to think about it, and certainly doesn’t want to talk about it with Shouyou. “In the next couple of weeks, Mom and Dad’ll get the letter and it’ll all go into motion and… you’ll move in.” He finds his face heating up, and grins. “Hey, want me to tell Mom and Dad how to decorate your room?”

Shouyou stares at him, that slight shine of doubt fading from his eyes. He grins and snatches the ball, and says, “You’re awesome, Tooru!”

“Hey, give that back!”

“Oh, and… can I have blue walls and volleyball stuff if it’s not too much trouble?” Shouyou asks, dodging as Tooru lunges for the ball and running away. He giggles again.

“Sure thing, you little jerk,” Tooru says, laughing hysterically as he chases Shouyou again and again.

Having this dork as his little brother will be the best thing ever.

\---

When Tooru gets home from school, he can sense the atmosphere in the Oikawa house. He finds Dad home from work early, and him and Mom studying a letter in disbelief. Mom has tears in her eyes, and Dad looks pretty choked up.

“Are you guys okay?” Tooru asks, nearly tripping in his hurry to get his shoes off.

He darts over, and Mom pulls him into a tight hug. The teary cuddle reminds him of that horrible day several months ago, and he swallows hard.

“Mom?”

“It… it’s happening, Tooru-chan,” Mom says, and she shows him the letter.

It’s full of words that he can’t understand, but Tooru gets the gist of it. It’s… about adoption. About…

About Shouyou’s adoption.

Tooru can’t find any words, his eyes filling with tears. He hugs his parents like he can’t let go, happier than he has ever been in his life.

Shouyou is his brother.

Shouyou is going to be an Oikawa.

It has happened.

This is amazing!

**Author's Note:**

> If you want me to write you a short fic, drop in a prompt at my [personal prompt meme](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/AutisticWriters_Personal_Prompt_Meme)!


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